The challenge

The scope was to bring both streaming services into the existing offer. We started with Netflix and ran multiple rounds of user testing. The shortcomings we found, such as connecting the streaming provider to your TV subscription, were iterated and improved for the next provider, HBO Max.

Beyond the sign-up logic, we also built the full integration on the Android TV set-top box. That added time and complexity, but every user on a supported platform got the same experience.

Along the way I met regularly with business, marketing, technical teams and the streaming services' representatives. Keeping everyone up to date was hard, because people from different departments joined at different points in the timeline.

Key decisions

• Show the value. Make it clear that a bundle is cheaper and more convenient than buying streaming services and a TV subscription separately.

• Show the content. Price matters, but so does what you get. In research and testing, people kept asking whether anything would interest them. Many streaming services don't show that upfront, so well-chosen promo material became key.

• Handle existing subscriptions. Partners had their own processes for sign-up, lost passwords, upgrades and more. The key question became whether and how people could move an existing account under the new bundle. We couldn't do everything technically that would have made it clearest, so we added explanatory texts and removed friction in existing steps, and kept refining the navigation logic across both integrations.

• One solution for all providers. Instead of designing again for each one, I looked for a way to scale while leaving room for provider-specific logic. For example, promo material (image, title, short description) comes from every provider in the same form, so all of them share a similar flow and plug into the bundle offers.

The results

By the second launch, both services followed similar styles and flows in the TV service while keeping each brand's own identity where needed. Users get the same experience whether they join for the first time or change provider within their bundle.

The project also created a regular promo process that I owned. Every month or two we updated the material to show what was available and what was coming, working with marketing to put the right content live at the right time. There is no point promoting a hit show that has been on Netflix for months, because most people who wanted to watch it already have.

Next steps

Going forward the existing princeples and UX should be used as the base for any new streaming provider. The necessary exceptions and improvements based on user feedback and provider needs can thus be added without redesigning the whole logic.